Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 992
"In my opinion, the most magnificent force of the Ancient Sages Sector is still the twelve of us!"
"Well said!" Glamorous brilliance beamed out of Meng Chixin's eyes. "Having risen to fame from the murky Southland of Sorcerers and become a critical person in the quest for the Divine Palace in only half a year, you truly deserve your fame, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture!
"However, I fear that you haven't seen through the whole picture yet.
"Judging from Heiye Lan's description just now, the Imperium of True Human Beings and other forces in the universe, such as the Star Glory Federation, must attach more importance to large-scale magical equipment. Personal combat ability matters less to them than it does to us!
"In the dark, cold, airless universe, under the barrage of a hundred warships, I'm afraid that even the strongest Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator or Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator can be blown to smithereens!
"The sea of stars is a vast and perilous place. Without 'starships' as vehicles, it is impossible for a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator or a Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator to fly from one Sector to another in a decade. Strategically speaking, such Cultivators will be confined to where they are!
"Therefore, with only the twelve of us, we will not be able to march out of the Ancient Sages Sector. Even if our Cultivation was twice as high, I'm afraid that the Imperium of True Human Beings still wouldn't pay as much attention to us!
"The reason that Heiye Lan offered such generous terms to us, in my opinion, lies in the Cloud Qin Gold Statues, the Colossi, the ultimate weapons in the universe!
"Twelve Cultivators in the Nascent Soul Stage and Divinity Transformation Stage might be negligible to the 'deities' from the deities' realm, but what if the twelve Cultivators are each piloting a Colossus?
"Heiye Lan, as the daughter of the commander of the Black Wind Fleet, was only given a ragged, well-worn Colossus!
"Blazing Tyrannosaur Ding Lingdang is respected as a 'legendary expert' of the Star Glory Federation with the intact Colossus Draconic Phoenix!
"It is not hard for us to infer the dominance of the Colossi!
"On our side, we can absolutely jumble twelve Colossi that are basically intact with the highest combat ability. If the twelve of us all learn their usage, we will definitely become a force to take note of in the universe between the Black Wind Fleet and the Star Glory Federation, twelve valuable chess pieces that can very possibly change the outcome of the war!
"This is where our true strength lies. This is the biggest 'bargaining chip' for us in our negotiation to come!
"Therefore, our priority right now is not to make a decision but to learn how to pilot the Colossi. We will 'wake up' all the Colossi nearby that have been asleep for hundreds of thousands of years!"
Li Yao's breath became heavy. With an expression of an appropriate ratio of surprise, suspicion, and excitement, he asked, "S—Senior Meng, are you willing to teach us the techniques to manipulate the Colossi? Are you so selfless?"
"Before I learned the vastness of the universe, I might've kept something to myself to fight for the tiny planet we are on," Meng Chixin said casually. "However, knowing the boundlessness of the sea of stars and that the Ancient Sages Sector is just a tiny pebble at the edge of the world, with us being insignificant dust on the pebble, what's there to keep from other grains of dust?
"It is truly boring to fight internally with you people on this pebble. If a man must fight, he should soar into the sky and fight the deities in the universe!"
Although he was a spectral Cultivator without a real entity, the ambition radiating from Meng Chixin during his declaration still illuminated Li Yao's face like fierce flames.
Meng Chixin looked at Li Yao and said in a seemingly honest way, "To fight the magnificent beings in the universe, I cannot act on my own. However strong I am, I will only be a joke when faced with thousands of warships! We are all locals of the Ancient Sages Sector, 'barbarians' despised by the 'nobles' at the center of the cosmos. Who else can I trust if not you?
"A hundred years ago, many people on the prairies called me the Wolf God. Wolves are not as strong as bears, not as fast as leopards, and not as ferocious as tigers or lions, but they are the biggest threat for the people on the prairies. Why? Because they are united! Of all the animals, only the wolves hunt in packs and resist the bitter coldness together. In perilous moments, the individuals will sacrifice for the community!
"I prefer the wolf to the lion, the tiger, the bear, or the leopard. In my eyes, the Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector should be wolves running in space!"
Li Yao was greatly touched. He turned his eyes to Wu Suiyun.
"I share the same view as Meng Chixin," Wu Suiyun said casually. "A hundred years ago, when my late husband was still alive, he promoted the integration of the major sects as the leader of all the Cultivators, hoping to end the internal strife and target the common foe. It's a shame that… he failed eventually.
"Then, I realized that the people of the major sects are too worthless to be supported! The twelve of us must not learn from them and focus all our attention to deal with ourselves. If that happened, the Ancient Sages Sector would truly be in a hopeless position!
"Therefore, Meng Chixin and I have decided to teach the ten of you how to pilot the Colossi that we have figured out in the past decades and the tricks we learned from Heiye Lan. With the twelve Colossi, we will participate in the game in the sea of stars!
"This is also a gamble for the future of the Ancient Sages Sector. I hope that the ten of you will not disappoint us!"
Li Yao took a deep breath, only to find that he was still too excited to contain himself. However, it was a normal reaction at this moment that did not require disguise. He solemnly said, "Rest assured, seniors. I am certainly not one of the shortsighted rats that only know how to attack each other! Just as you said, Senior Meng, if we must fight, we should fight the entire universe to our heart's content!
"However, you could've informed the Three Saints, the Four Rapscallions, the Monk, and the Emperor as well as me of your plan at the same time. Why did you choose to tell me alone?"
"Because your role in the entire gamble is vital," Meng Chixin explained. "You have never piloted a Colossus before, so it's possible that you don't under the mysteries. In terms of 'manipulation', the Colossus is not very difficult to use. All the Cultivators in the Nascent Soul Stage boast extraordinary wisdom and souls. After one to two days of adaptation, five days at most, you will be able to control the Colossus to perform the basic movements and simple attacks.
"Such magical equipment seems to have been specifically refined by the primeval deities—specifically, the Nuwa Clan. They are designed for human beings to use and are much easier to control than many flying swords. It's basically the same with regular armor!"
Li Yao nodded.
What he said was quite true. Although the Colossi were ultimate treasures in the primeval era, they were designed in a very user-friendly way. Years ago, when he tried Draconic Phoenix for the first time, he had already been able to perform a rather sophisticated technique and blow up a member of the Pangu Clan!
Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun, as two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators, had studied it for decades. It was not strange that they could perceive the usage of the Colossus.
"However," Meng Chixin said solemnly, "although the Colossi are not difficult to maneuver, they are extremely delicate in structure. The rune arrays and the spiritual energy circuits are sometimes even traceless and unpredictable. It's extremely hard to repair and maintain them!
"In fact, there were more well-preserved Colossi when we first discovered the warehouse, but after decades of study, almost ten of them had been ruined. It was truly a waste that made our hearts ache!
"We did find some jade chips and books that seemed to be instructions on the refinement and maintenance of the Colossi. However, neither Wu Suiyun nor I are Sword Forgers, and we only know the fundamentals about magical equipment. Also, we are just two spectral Cultivators without real entities. It is terribly troublesome for us to maintain the Colossi!
"Do you understand now, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture? It is not difficult to make the twelve Colossi run and defend the future of the Ancient Sages Sector in the universe!
"However, to adjust them carefully so that they fit the characteristics of each user, and to repair them as soon as possible after a fierce battle to reduce the wear… All in all, all the technological issues regarding the Colossi will depend on you, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture!"
Chapter 1529: Who's the Mantis? Who's the Sparrow? |
Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun patted Li Yao's shoulder neither too heavily nor too lightly with their cold hands that looked like icy mist.
Li Yao was almost shouting in excitement!
"We have just learned that you are one of the best sword forgers in the Ancient Sages Sector today, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture," Meng Chixin said solemnly. "You had an intriguing debate with Sword Maniac Yan Liren regarding swords at the Dragon Spring Meeting. Later, you also held a lecture in person where you elaborated on ancient refining arts, showing your unparalleled expertise in the field.
"In the half year that followed, you travelled among many sects and helped the Cultivators of various sects to forge swords and modify their magical equipment. There didn't seem to be a single piece of magical equipment that you couldn't refine, maintain, or modify. The power of the magical equipment that was maintained and modified by you was often more than doubled. It was almost a miracle!
"Also, we are told that you once received the heritage of 'Yan Zhu', a sword forger from the Great Zhou Dynasty, and that you have the nickname 'Grandmaster of Great Zhou' in the outside world.
"The Great Zhou Dynasty succeeded the Cloud Qin Dynasty in ancient times. The Cloud Qin Dynasty rose with their twelve Cloud Qin Gold Statues. They could not have been completely ruined when they were passed on to the Great Zhou Dynasty. At least half of them should still have been intact!
"Since 'Yan Zhu' was a top-tier sword forger of the Great Zhou Dynasty, is there any chance that he once got in touch with some Cloud Qin Gold Statues? Have the secret methods regarding the adjustment, modification, and maintenance of the Cloud Qin Gold Statues been left in his notes and his heritage? Have you learned those secret methods, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture?
"Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, we know that those secret methods are certainly your top secrets that you would rather nobody else saw. However, this is a period of life and death for the Ancient Sages Sector. We should all open ourselves for sincere cooperation! Wu Suiyun and I are already prepared to teach everybody our knowledge of the Colossi. There's no need to keep anything to yourself anymore, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture!"
Li Yao's heart was pounding, and his brain was almost exploding because of excitement!
Even though he had been considering exposing his identity, the idea had now been completely dismissed!
What Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun suggested was that he would work as the 'technical director' of the twelve unparalleled experts. He would be fully responsible for all the technological issues about the Colossi and even all the other magical equipment!
What an important post it was!
On second thought, who was better qualified for the job than the 'Grandmaster of Great Zhou', one of the best refiners of the Ancient Sages Sector?
In such a case, would the critical parts of the other unparalleled experts not be handed over to him?
Li Yao was one of the best specialists of Colossi in the Star Glory Federation! Even without setting up any backdoors and barriers inside the Colossi on purpose, he would grasp the advantages and shortcomings of every Colossus after studying their performance parameters and tactical features, thereby taking the full initiative if a battle broke out!
"Calm down!" the mental devil shouted inside his brain. "Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun are definitely no fools. Do not be overwhelmed by ecstasy. It is possible that they are still testing you and waiting for you to expose some openings. Maybe they saw through your identity a long time ago but simply pretended that they didn't in order to take advantage of you. They've asked you to adjust and maintain the Colossi because they want to steal the techniques from you, exactly like how they took advantage of Heiye Lan and stole the tricks on the usage of the Colossi earlier!"
Li Yao was suddenly alarmed.
The mental devil was quite right. It seemed a bit too soon for the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators to have trusted him and given him such an important task!
Although there was no time to consider it carefully at that moment, he should still be vigilant and never underestimate the wisdom of the ancient people. Otherwise, his outcome would only be more wretched than Heiye Lan's!
Li Yao hesitated and solemnly replied, "It's true that I received certain scraps on the maintenance of the Cloud Qin Gold Statues from the heritage of Yan Zhu, the sword forger of the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, the scraps were incomplete and unsystematic. Also, I have never practiced them in person. I'm not confident that I can accomplish such an arduous task at all!"
Meng Chixin and Wu Suiyun looked at each other and both seemed relieved. They smiled and said, "As long as you are willing to take the responsibility, it will be fine. Aren't we all blind people riding blind horses, stumbling and groping in darkness, when faced with the Colossi and the universe beyond? At least, as the best refiner of the Ancient Sages Sector and the Grandmaster of Great Zhou, you should be more suitable for the job than any of us. That's all we need!"
"Thank you for your trust, seniors!" Li Yao said in excitement. "I'll certainly do my best!"
"Very good. Besides the maintenance of the Colossi, there are another two tasks of paramount importance that can't be finished without you," Meng Chixin said. "Firstly, we need to strengthen the barriers between the Nuwa warship and the underground palace of the Pangu Clan.
"According to the calculations of Wu Suiyun and I earlier, the barriers might not be able to survive another ten years under the repetitive clash of the monsters underground. Right now, we are faced with more urgent problems and have no time to deal with them temporarily. Maybe, after we receive more powerful techniques and magical equipment from the Imperium of True Human Beings or other forces in the universe, we will be able to finish the problems in the underground palace once and for all!
"But until then, maybe we should gather the strength of the twelve of us and establish an impenetrable barrier to build up the gate together!
"Of the twelve of us, many are experts of barriers, but as for whether or not the gate should be upgraded with some confining magical equipment, it will depend on you, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture! I'm told that you are a distinguished specialist when it comes to the confining magical equipment, right?"
The mission was very reasonable. Having no reason to refuse, Li Yao nodded and agreed quickly. "I will certainly consider the issue carefully and make sure that the gate of the underground palace is safe and secure and will never be broken through by the monsters!"
"Excellent!" Meng Chixin smiled and said, "Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, you are truly a straightforward man. We have found the right person! The third mission has a higher demand on your resolution and wisdom. Maybe, under certain circumstances, we will need you to watch Heiye Lan, the female warrior from the Imperium of True Human Beings!"
"Watch her?" Li Yao was slightly dazed. "What do you mean?"
"Although the woman is just a pure warrior, her father is the commander of the Black Wind Fleet after all," Meng Chixin explained. "She must be some sort of 'noble' in the Black Wind Fleet. The way we see it, she seems to have been in touch with techniques related to magical equipment maintenance and starship operation before, which will prove to be very useful for us later.
"In our plans in the future, we will likely need her help to dismantle and crack the Nuwa Warship, to carry out part of the maintenance task on the Colossi, and even to repair her 'Bloody Blade'-level assault warship so that we also have the ability to cruise through the universe instead of being frogs in a well!"
Li Yao nodded quickly.
The two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were indeed thoughtful. They had made plans for Heiye Lan's starship so quickly.
He was quite right. Only when the Ancient Sages Sector boasted the ability to cruise through space would they rid themselves of the fate of being at the mercy of somebody else. If they could not beat the enemy, they could at least run away!
"That's what we are thinking about, but we fear that she might play some dirty tricks while she pretends to cooperate with us on the surface," Meng Chixin said hesitatingly. "After all, her techniques and technologies from the… modern civilization of Immortal Cultivators are too sophisticated and mysterious. Even if we are both in the Divinity Transformation Stage, it is impossible for us to understand them soon.
"If she pretends to cooperate with us and helps us repair Weary Tooth while activating a piece of magical equipment that can send messages to the mother fleet in secret and summon the Black Wind Fleet before we are ready, we will be caught in a very passive position!
"Therefore, we need an expert of refining to keep an eye on her! Nobody is better qualified for the mission than you, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture!"
Li Yao narrowed his eyes and thought quickly.
Meng Chixin's three missions were quite reasonable. He indeed seemed to be the best fit.
It appeared that he was truly an important person that could potentially decide the life and death of the Ancient Sages Sector. No wonder the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators had invited him for a private talk so mysteriously.
